August 20 – Today the S&P 500 (SPX) Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average both fell by 2.1%, while the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) and 4 other volatility indexes rose by more than 20% (see table below), and the VIX Weekly futures had record daily volume of 1,847 (estimated). STRIKING PRICE COLUMN In a recent […]

What do portfolio managers say about investments to consider in times of high price/earnings ratios for stocks and low interest rates for bonds? One money manager, Ronald Egalka, President and Chief Investment Officer, Rampart Investment Management Company in Boston, has noted – “Market experience ranks among our most valuable assets. Since 1983 Rampart has responded […]

Dec. 31, 2014 – Highlights of the year 2014 in volatility include the following – In the 2nd half of the year crude oil prices fell, and the CBOE Crude Oil Volatility Index (OVX) rose 183% during the full year. While the average daily close for the CBOE Volatility Index® (VIX®) was 14.2 for the […]

Over the past three calendar months (September through November) — The CBOE Crude Oil ETF Volatility Index (OVX) rose 119%, the highest percentage rise for OVX over three calendar months since the inception of OVX price history in 2007. The OVX Index is a measure of the market’s expected future volatility of the United States […]

Nov. 17, 2014 – When I deliver presentations on portfolio risk management to groups of financial professionals, one of the most frequent questions is “What is a better hedge for a portfolio – VIX calls or SPX puts?” A 30-page paper by Morgan Stanley in June 2014 suggested that “VIX calls are best used to […]

This past month was one of the most volatile months of the past three years, as the CBOE Short-Term Volatility Index (VXST) rose 48.2% on October 9, and the CBOE Brazil ETF Volatility Index (VXEWZ) hit its all-time daily closing high of 72.83 on October 20 (before the re-election of Dilma Rousseff as President of […]

I recently showed a chart with the yearly growth in volume in options on the CBOE Volatility Index® (VIX®) to a senior executive at a financial services firm, and the executive said that the VIX options volume strong growth in recent years was hard for him to believe, in light of the fact that the […]

Beginning Monday, October 6, 2014, CBOE will calculate the spot value of the CBOE Volatility Index® (VIX®) using S&P 500® Index (SPX) options with weekly and standard 3rd Friday expirations that more closely bracket the 30-day target timeframe. While this change is not expected to have a dramatic impact on the spot VIX Index (see […]